JAVMANewsSubsection

Accolades

Academia

Dr. Gary D. Gackstetter

Dr. William D. Liska

Dr. Mahlon W. Vorhies

Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine awarded three alumni the 2010 Stange Award for Meritorious Service.

Dr. Gary D. Gackstetter (ISU '79) is a principal scientist for Analytic Services Inc., a nonprofit that provides analysis to decision-makers in the U.S. national security and public safety communities. Dr. Gackstetter is a bioterror and agroterror defense expert who specializes in biosurveillance and readiness as well as chemical and biological defense research administration.

A 26-year military veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Dr. Gackstetter retired at the rank of colonel. During his career he was a public health officer, professor, and director of graduate programs at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He also served as a senior policy analyst in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Health Affairs, at the Pentagon.

Dr. William D. Liska (ISU '73) is the founder and president of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston. He focuses on joint replacement surgery—specifically, total hip replacement in dogs, hip replacement in small dogs and cats, and total knee replacement in dogs.

Dr. Liska supervised development of a commercial, multiple-size knee implant as well as associated surgical instrumentation, surgical techniques, and surgeon training. He also performed and reported on an early custom total knee replacement in a dog. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons.

In addition to maintaining a specialty practice, Dr. Liska serves as a member of the veterinary team for the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.

Dr. Mahlon W. Vorhies (ISU '62) is considered a leader in the advancement of diagnostic veterinary medicine. Dr. Vorhies has worked at the diagnostic laboratories at Iowa State, South Dakota State, and Kansas State universities. At each institution he built, supported, and led teams with a focus on high-quality diagnostic service to the public.

Dr. Vorhies is one of the early officers of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians. He was instrumental in developing and implementing laboratory audit requirements and benchmarks.

Now retired, Dr. Vorhies continues his support of diagnostic veterinary medicine as a consultant to laboratories across the country.

Two Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine graduates were honored with the school's Distinguished Alumnus Award on Oct. 30.

Dr. Sherril L. Green (LSU '85) is a professor and head of the Department of Comparative Medicine at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. In addition to her duties as department head, Dr. Green teaches courses in equine medicine, though she has shifted her emphasis to frogs (specifically the African clawed frog). She has developed a research career in laboratory animal and comparative medicine and has become a leader and role model to preveterinary and premedical students at Stanford.

She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and a successful author who has written romantic stories under the pen name Kathrynn Dennis.

Dr. J. Trenton McClure (LSU '89) is head of the Department of Health Management at the University of Prince Edward Island Atlantic Veterinary College in Canada.

Following graduation from Louisiana State, Dr. McClure completed a large animal internship at the University of Minnesota, followed by a brief stint in private practice. He then completed a large animal medicine residency at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before working as a clinical instructor at both Minnesota and Wisconsin. In 1998 Dr. McClure joined the Atlantic Veterinary College, where he became a department head in 2009.

He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.